Booknotes II (January 08)

Other acquisitions or review copies received this month:

The Problem of Emancipation: The Caribbean Roots of the American Civil War by Edward Bartlett Rugemer (LSU, 2008). This book examines the influence of abolitionist movements in France and Britain, and how they directly led to slave rebellions in the Caribbean, events that were closely followed in the United States. The author takes a broad view of the Anglo-Atlantic world, bringing the Caribbean into the U.S. domestic sphere, while also drawing parallels between Parliament's relationship with its West Indian colonies and the U.S. federal government's with the South. I am about 1/3 of the way through, and it's a fascinating study.

Mutiny at Fort Jackson: The Untold Story of the Fall of New Orleans by Michael D. Pierson (Univ. of N. Carolina Press, 2008). I'm reviewing this one for a magazine, so I won't be writing another here, but I do intend some kind of commentary.

Wiregrass To Appomattox: The Untold Story of the 50th Georgia Infantry Regiment by James W. Parrish (Angle Valley Press, 2008). Parrish's study is another fine looking regimental history from AVP -- solid research, a serious accounting of the unit's campaign history, lots of photos & maps, and a great array of extras.